Interview mit Wild Cat Strike zu „Satellite towns“ | Was geht in Brighton bitte ab? Nach den Überfliegern von Black Honey und einem neuen Lebenszeichen von Blood Red Shoes kommt der nächste Top-Act über den Teich geschwappt. Wild Cat Strike spielen fantastischen Emo-Indie. Im Interview stellen Danny und Chris ihren berauschenden Song „Satellite towns“ vom Album „Rhubarb nostalgia“ vor.
How did you write „Satellite towns“ in the very beginning?
Danny Byrom: „I wrote the guitar parts with max, then showed it to the other guys. It’s probably both the oldest and newest song on the record, as it went through some changes.“
What can you tell us about recording the song?
DB: We recorded ST, and the whole record by ourselves with our drummer Joe Caple at the helm. It started off very simple, but we wanted the loud parts to be a wall on noise, so played with layers of overly effected guitars and noise. We also got our friend guy jones to pretty up some parts with piano.
Chris Whitehorn: This was the first one written for the album, and the first one we recorded. We had everything tracked, but weren’t happy with it, and it almost got cut from the album. It was too long in places and just didn’t feel right. It then underwent some surgery at the mixing desk, which was a first for us. (Normally all changes are made in the practise room beforehand). We wrote 2 new guitar parts in the verse, chopped out half of the second verse and Danny completely changed his lyrics. Despite being the first one we started, it was the last one finished.
Credit to Sean from We Never Learned to Live who came to see us, spoke to us after and said it was his favourite song of ours, at a time when it was close to getting the chop. That gave us the confidence to stick with it and turn it into something that we’re now very proud of.
Our former bassist Guy Jones lays down some sweet piano in the middle. Same with a few tracks on the record, he came into the studio having not heard the songs and improvised over the top. It’s pure feeling, and often that’s so much better than overthinking parts (like we had definitely been guilty of on this song!)
What’s your personal favorite moment of the track?
DB: I like the dynamic shift of the chorus, then the calm into the verse, there’s also this quiet guitar lead out of the chorus that sounds like Catherine wheel with a mind of its own, irrationally changing direction of spin.
CW: Personally, I like when the bass picks up in the second verse (3m10 in the full version, 2m35 in the shorter version) and then the second chorus explodes. It feels like the whole song has been building up to that point and it’s really fun to play.
How can I understand the lyrics?
Danny Byrom: „It’s kind of about trying to escape or accept a situation through transcendental means, whether belief, luck, superstition or affinity.
What’s your favorite one-liner of the song?
DB: Hmmm “the bottom of heavens just the top of hell”. I think it’s a fun idea, what really separates the best people in hell with the worst people in heaven.
CW: „Dropping a coin in a wishing well, just to wish you well
Its lakes of fire 666, 666
The bottom of heaven’s just the top of hell“
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Why did you put „Satellite towns“ at this position of the album?
DB: The album placement just felt natural for every song, it seems to have a natural ebb and flow.
CW: We wanted to juxtapose the end of Satellite Towns (possibly the loudest / heaviest part of the album) against the sickly sweet start of I Feel Good.
And why did you choose to publish the song as the second single prior to the album?
DB: It was a democratic vote, both for the band and the labels. It’s a more straight forward song than others
At what point of a concert do you play the song?
DB:We often play the album in its order. I’ve always been a big fan of albums, and feel the songs are placed in a way that works best. We have opened with it in the past, but it’s nice to have a familiar single in the middle for crowd.
CW: It’s previously been at the start or the end of the set, but recently we’ve been playing most of the album in order, so it’s around the middle.
What track would you put next to „Satellite towns“ on a mixtape?
DB: Maybe before ‘lampshades of fire’ by modest mouse, or after anything by explosions on the sky. Or between really bad bands so we sound better ha.
CW: We made a mixtape called „Recipes for Rhubarb“, which is full of songs that inspired the album, I think it could sit alongside anything on there.
At what moment should I play the song?
DB: I think it’s a good driving song, or walking song. Movement and journeys always give music more permanence.“
CW: We made a video and thought that the feeling of driving through quiet roads at night would complement the song. From the director…
Molly Boughen (video director): „When the band and I first met up to discuss the music video we were all on the same page of having a surreal piece to go with the song. In the song, there are themes of wanting to leave the town you’re in, and we wanted to show the melancholy of wanting to leave but always being forced back into the centre of it, whether that be the people you’re surrounded by or your own mind.
This song is great because the lyrics are so thought provoking so the idea came quickly, which allowed us to do a narrative-driven music video rather than a performance based one. It was fun piecing the video together because it was like we were creating a surreal dream. To add to the experience of shooting it, we were so lucky to have a 5-hour lightning storm during the car scenes which fit perfectly with the theme of the video! Having those shots in the final video enhanced the eerie dreamlike atmosphere.
What I love about this video is that anyone can interpret it how they want, everyone can relate differently to being stuck in their own little Satellite Town.”
that new music blog:
Ein toller, dynamischer Song einer Band, die zwischen Emo und Alt-J-Indie ihren einsamen Platz gefunden hat und mit diesem nun die Welt erobern kann.
Was für eine wunderschöne, ausführliche Vorstellung von „Satellite town“. Dabei ist das beileibe nicht der einzige tolle Song auf „Rhubarb nostalgia“. Hört euch hier das ganze Album an:
Hier könnt ihr Wild Cat Strike bald live sehen und überprüfen, ob die Band das Album wirklich an einem Stück durchspielt.
29.10. Mainz – Kulturcafé